


Missing Dogs and Dashing Airmen

by Jalapeno_Lobster



Category: Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
Genre: F/F, Found Your Dog AU, Modern AU, Sorry to disappoint, light flirting only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 22:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16983132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jalapeno_Lobster/pseuds/Jalapeno_Lobster
Summary: Deryn finally gets a call that someone's found her missing dog.





	Missing Dogs and Dashing Airmen

**Author's Note:**

> Written way back in 2014 on tumblr at the request of user thequeenpatches.

The blaring of her alarm clock pulled Deryn from sleep, hand grabbing at her bedside table as her head pounded at twice the tempo of her alarm.

She shoved away the blanket Jaspert had thrown over her last night when he’d finally gotten her to go to sleep, letting it pool around her knees. The shock of cold morning air woke her enough for her to find her clock, squinting at the time and groaning with the realization that the annoying sound was not, in fact, her alarm clock. She’d missed that reminder hours ago.

The ringing persisted and she rolled over in her bed, wrapping her pillow around her ears. “Jaspert!” she yelled, her voice gruff with sleep. “You bum-rag, get the phone!”

“Get it yourself,” his muffled voice yelled back from his room across the hallway. “It’s your phone.”

Deryn clawed her way further beneath the covers when his retort was punctuated by another ring of the phone. “Jaspert!”

She heard the floor creaking beneath his footsteps as he finally answered the phone, granting her the silence she needed to go back to sleep. It didn’t last long, as he decided to stand in her doorway, chatting none-too-quietly with whoever was calling. After a long series of pauses and the occasional affirmative sound, he hung up and tossed the phone onto her bed.

It narrowly missed her eye.

“Someone found your dog,” he said.

Deryn was up in less than a second. “What?” she demanded.

“Some lass called, said she found your dog. You’re meeting her in an hour. She texted you the address, some place in the industrial district. Now get up, you ninny.” He grabbed a pillow from the edge of her bed and tossed it at her.

“I’m getting up, I’m getting up,” she grumbled, sliding out from under her covers. But for all her complaining, she couldn’t hide her grin. Someone had found Bovril at last.

* * *

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with bright eyes and a curious smile. “Hello!” he said, holding the door open for Deryn. “You must be here for the dog. I was expecting you to be more…male, but no matter. Lilit!” he yelled over his shoulder. It was followed by some quick sentences in German, spoken too quickly for her to follow.

A distant voice answered.

He turned back to her, saying in English, “Come in, come in.”

He led her through the foyer, down a dark hallway, and pointed for her to go down a flight of stairs, explaining that his daughter would be in the garage.

She obeyed his instructions and found herself in a huge auto repair garage with at least half a dozen cars and twice as many car lifts in a wide range of colours. The only other person in the garage seemed to be the owner of the two legs sticking out from under a rusty blue car with its stereo blaring at full volume.

Bovril was nowhere to be seen.

Deryn walked to the car, the heels of her dress shoes clicking on the concrete floor. The other girl, Lilit, seemed to have heard her approach, as she slid out from under the car and turned down the radio. With her came Bovril, the small dog immediately running to Deryn, clawing her legs for attention.

Deryn grinned, kneeling and picking him up, nuzzling his head with her cheek. “Aye, beastie, I missed you too.”

“You weren’t the one on the phone, were you?” Lilit asked, wiping her hands off on a nearby towel. Deryn noticed that, although her hands were filthy with grease, the girl’s clothes and face were spotless.

“No,” Deryn replied, “that was my brother, Jaspert.”

Lilit nodded, holding out her hand. “I’m Lilit.”

“Deryn Sharp.” She shook her hand. “Thanks for finding my dog.”

Lilit laughed, leaning against the hood of the car. “We didn’t so much find him as he wandered in. Curious little pup you’ve got there.”

“Aye, he’s my friend Alek’s, actually. My brother and I’ve been taking care of him while Alek’s out of town, so you can imagine how much of a mess we’d be in if you hadn’t found him.”

Lilit _hmm_ ed thoughtfully. “Yes, I can see how that would be a bit…complicated.”

“So thanks. Really.” Deryn leaned against the car, jumping away when the metal protested beneath her, eyes wide. Bovril leapt out of her arms, trotting away nervously. He didn’t have much of a tolerance for threatening machinery, no matter how curious he’d been about it when it seemed harmless.

Lilit moved away too, eyeing it contemptuously. “Maybe it would be best if we went somewhere else,” she suggested. “I have a feeling this rust bucket is ready to fall apart any moment now. Don’t know how anyone managed to make a Vega last so long, anyway, but it’s not going to stand much longer.”

“What do you do here, anyway?” Deryn asked, following Lilit out of the garage. Bovril ran ahead, circling back every now and then to make sure the girls were still behind him.

“Just help my father out,” Lilit replied, shrugging. “He fixes up cars, mostly, but lately he’s been getting more involved with politics, so I lend a hand when I can. What about you?”

“I’m in the air force. Just joined a short while back.” Deryn halted and turned to face Lilit when they reached the front door again. “I should be heading back home. Thanks again for your help with Bovril.” She knelt and clipped a leash onto the dog’s collar.

Lilit smiled. “My pleasure. It’s more than worth the trouble if I get to meet dashing airmen like you.”

Deryn laughed, stepping out into the cold. “I’ll see you around then?”

“Hopefully,” Lilit answered, leaning against the doorframe to watch Deryn’s figure retreat. It was a while before she closed the door.


End file.
